1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to an exercise machine. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an exercise machine permitting a full range of exercises, including weight lifting exercises, wherein the body weight of the exercising individual provides resistance against which said exercises are performed.
2. Information Disclosure and Objects
In designing an exercise machine suitable to today's marketplace various considerations must be taken into account, including ease of transport and adaptability to various individuals as well as to different exercises. The exercise machine should, for example, provide for a full range of exercises including those for flexibility, body building, aerobics, and the like. It should also be adaptable to various theories and methods of exercise.
Conventional weight lifting and body building devices, inclusive of universal gyms and the like, generally require an external source of resistance (e.g. iron weights), are complicated, and are generally inflexible. These machines, for example, provide only a typical range of weights and resistance levels and cannot accommodate the novice or beginning exerciser through advanced and expert levels of training, body building, and the like.
While other exercising devices do not require external weights, they generally utilize mechanical mechanisms such as springs and the like to provide resistance to the exercise. These mechanisms, however, provide a variable, non-uniform resistance to the exercise and generally deteriorate over a period of time. Still yet a further disadvantage of the these machines is that they are not universal. They do not support a full range of even the conventional weight lifting exercises, let alone accommodate an individual with a specifically designed exercise program. Most often, a plurality of different machines are required to work different muscle groupings and/or accommodate a specific exercise routine.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to eliminate the foregoing disadvantages and provide a truly universal exercising machine which overcomes the foregoing defects.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a exercising machine which can virtually accommodate all individual exercising levels from beginner to expert throughout a full range of exercises which can include conventional weight lifting exercises, a full range of flexibility exercises, aerobic exercises, as well as specifically designed exercise programs tailored to an individuals requirements.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide an exercising machine which may utilize the individuals own weight to achieve and supplement the various resistance levels provided by the machine, while providing a uniform resistance throughout various exercises.
Still yet a further object is to provide an exercising device which through its various mechanisms provides an entire range of mechanical advantages to accommodate exercises and exercising levels throughout a full range of external force requirements so that the exercising machine accommodates exercises requiring little or no exertion or external force to a level requiring a very strenuous level of exertion, which levels can exceed by several times the body weight of the individual.
Various other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood from a thorough reading of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment, the claims and the drawing figures, wherein: